Cooper's Hawk
Accipiter cooperii
Cooper's Hawk · Prospect Park · 15 November 2025
A Cooper's Hawk in Prospect Park in November, a bird-hunting hawk of the eastern woods that has become, within a few decades, one of the commonest raptors in American cities. Songbirds drawn to feeders make for reliable hunting, and the park has a resident pair.
A blue-grey back, fine reddish barring on the breast, and a bright orange eye that darkens with age. Built for speed through cover rather than open-sky soaring. A study of Cooper's Hawk skeletons found that nearly a quarter had healed fractures in the chest, from hitting branches at full speed.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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